I was uber-excited about today as it's the day of my Tuscany day trip. Ever since watching Diane Lane's Under the Tuscan Sun, I've been dreaming about the rolling hills, endless vineyards, lines of cypress trees and
Italian hunks...ahem. Truth be told, during the planning stages of this trip, I I was debating between city hopping and a Tuscany drive-through. But I decided against Tuscany due to my ignorance of the Italian language and fear of driving in a foreign country. As a compromise, I booked a one day bus tour with
Walk about tours, which visits Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa, as well as lunch at a farm in Chianti.
The tour began bright and early at 8:30, departing from the Florence train station. After checking in with driver, I got on the bus and just picked a empty seat. Now that I've taken the tour, I can tell you one big tip: sit on the right side of the bus! Almost all of the sights pointed out along the ride were on the right, and since we're heading south, the sun is always on the left. So not only did I miss out on some prime photography moments, I was also completely fried by the end of the day. Lesson learned!
Thankfully the windows were super clean, so I did manage to get some awesome pics of the Tuscan countryside. *swoon*
Our first stop was Siena, a UNESCO world heritage site. The bus stopped by the Medici fortress, built between 1561-1563. The Medici family coat of arms can be seen on one of the corners. To the right is a view of the city.
The Bank of Siena has been in continuous business since 1472.
The she-wolf statue (lupa) with the twins Romulus and Remus is often seen in Siena because according to legend, Siena was founded by Senius, Remus' son. Romulus & Remus were nursed by the she-wolf and eventually grew up and founded Rome.
See how the second level of windows look shorter? According to our local guide, this family destroyed their enemy's house overnight and used the leftover bricks to make their own place bigger. Vicious!
We got to Siena relatively early, before 10am. So the streets were still quiet. I loved the tall & narrow streets.
Here's our local guide to the right and the girl in red is our guide for the day. I kinda have a crush on our local guide and really wanted to ask her where she got her outfit coz it's so cute!
This little cafe by the Piazza del campo is exactly what a European vacation is all about! To the right is the clock-tower of Siena. When we came back to this spot at the end of our free time, the plaza was packed, with lots of people sunbathing on the ground. None of those are locals, says the local guide. This is also the place where they hold the twice a year Palio, an exciting horse race between the 17 wards of the city. After watching a video of it on the bus, I almost wanted to book my return ticket for July and August! The festival lasts 4 days, but the race itself is about 30s long LOL~ The people of Siena take Palio very seriously, blessing their horses and pampering them before the race. Why? Because if your ward wins, you get bragging rights for a year and can celebrate anyway you want.
Here's one of the ward symbols to the right -- the goose ward. Each ward was historically made up of people of a certain occupation. The goose ward used to be for people who made dyes.
Sometimes the wards are so close to each other they're separated by a single wall!
Highlight at Siena: the Duomo. Since Siena & Florence were huge rivals, of course Siena's Duomo needs to be bigger and more luxurious!
The minute I walked in, I tuned the local guide out, because all I can think of was: Siena 1, Florence 0. This place is stunning!
Large areas of the floor were covered up because this is the beauty that lie beneath our feet.
Wall murals were equally breath-taking.
Too bad we only got less than 1 hour to enjoy Siena on our own. I would've loved to stay the night!
Of course before I leave, I have to get some of their famous ricciarelli, cookies made of almond & egg whites. It's super sweet, slightly chewy and oh-so-addictive. The store Dolce Siena is also known for their panforte, which will convert the most adamant fruit-cake haters.
(To be continued...)
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